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Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Brazilian electric bus enters testing phase in São Paulo

from AutoData Newsdesk

The trolley bus, which depends on a network of aerial electric cables to capture energy, is evolving. The E-Bus is being developed by Eletra, a local capital company. The company produces buses in the trolley bus, hybrid, and, now in tests, electric versions.The vehicle is being developed in partnership with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corporation. It runs on battery. It does not need an internal combustion engine and it has a range of 200 km.Tests began on Tuesday, 19. Initially, it will carry passenger-simulating weight. The vehicle should begin regular operation still this year in the corridor that links the southern region of São Paulo to the city of Diadema.According to Iêda Maria Oliveira, commercial manager at Eletra, the E-Bus has a Caio body that is built on a Mercedes-Benz chassis. It uses a Weg electric engine, similar to the ones already used in the trolley bus version. Only the batteries needed to be imported, since the ones that are manufactured locally are incapable of delivering the 200-kilometer range. This is why we made a partnership with Mitsubishi, which is interested in transferring its technology to Brazilian companies."The batteries can be recharged at the bus terminal at the end of the trip, or along the way, in fast charge mode - which ranges from 4 to 5 minutes, enough to enable it to ride for 11 km.The technology of these stations was also developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, while Mitsubishi Corporation was responsible for the interface.According to Oliveira, the size of the vehicle is a major differential factor. "This is the first purely electric articulated bus in the world, which totals 18 meters in length."The results of the tests with the E-Bus, which is capable of carrying up to 150 passengers, will be measured by the corridor concession holder, Metra, and the São Paulo company for urban transportation, EMTU.According to the executive, the advance of electric technology opens new doors for exports."We sold Eletra trolley buses developed in Brazil to New Zealand. We also have a partnership with Mercedes-Benz to deliver a hybrid bus concept, and we want to move ahead even further in this direction. The demand for zero emissions is global, and we can become significant players in the segment."